K is for Kamabo (Splatoon)

Chapter 8

Saturday, 12:06 a.m.
Calamari County

Captain Cuttlefish let the phone ring several times. His old bones were aching, his bed was comfortable, and his patience had run out after a long day of talking to DPC idiots. Blinking through the darkness of his bedroom, the old man sighed and grabbed the phone off of the nightstand. He pressed the answer button, eager to make the ringing stop but less eager to talk to the person on the other end. Only one person would ever call him at this hour.

"Craig speaking," the veteran mumbled into the receiver, still shaking off sleep.

"Why are my girls ignoring their own travel advisory?" came Director Nyde's nasally voice. The head of the DPC's operations branch took his job very seriously and rarely went home. If anyone was still at the headquarters in the middle of the night, it would be Director Nyde.

Cuttlefish rubbed his forehead with his free hand. "Come again?"

"We've just caught sight of Enperry and Ida biking out to Octo Valley, and they're not answering me. I'd like an explanation."

"Darren, I'm afraid this is news to me, too," said Cuttlefish, smiling to himself. The old man had been hoping that the recon girls would move out, and he had begun to wonder if he had failed to convince them. Now the captain had the perfect excuse to expedite the investigation. "We should send a backup team to find them," he added.

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Saturday, 12:09 a.m.
Bottom of Mount Nantai

Mount Nantai had a marked hiking trail, but the place was neither popular nor developed. It lacked the usual conveniences of campgrounds and parking lots, so Marina ended up leaving her motorbike propped against a pine tree as she and Pearl began their ascent.

"You know, I've always wanted to meet a real NSS agent," said Pearl.

Marina set her phone off of travel mode and opened up a homebrew surveillance app. "Yeah? Why?" she asked, synching her phone to the prototype drones in Pearl's backpack.

The Inkling touched her chin before saying, "I dunno, they've always sorta been my heroes."

The Octoling nodded in agreement, although she didn't agree in the slightest. Her own perception of NSS agents was quite different. In fact, as a child, Marina had been downright terrified of them. The Octarians had made them out to be scary bad guys who kidnapped children. They were also responsible for several confirmed kidnappings and assassinations, cementing their reputation in the Canyon as monsters. Marina knew better now that she was a full citizen of Inkopolis, but changing her internalized prejudices would be difficult.

"I feel like agents aren't constrained by rules like the rest of us," Pearl added. "I've met all sorts of rich and powerful people, but they all get tied down by stuff like money, schedules, and responsibilities. Holds 'em back. Even big celebrities like the Squid Sisters."

"You've met the Squid Sisters? They're my heroes!" Marina chimed in.

"Not gonna lie, they're pretty boring in person." her friend said. "They follow the rules just like everyone else. But, like, imagine how an NSS agent's gotta break the rules and even the laws to protect the city at all costs. They've got the freedom to not worry about money or fame."

Marina nodded again, trying to think objectively about working in the field as an NSS agent. That kind of life didn't seem particularly glamorous, and many aspects of it seemed so lonely. No regular contact with your friends or family, little time for serious relationships, and life-threatening work conditions came to mind. Add to it the fact that agents had to live with the blood of their victims on their hands, and they had a tough job, one not befitting a normal, socially-adjusted individual. One deserving of respect, certainly, but not envy.